During Tuesday’s arraignment, District Attorney Scot Leaders argued a substantial bail amount was necessary to protect the public. Also, Herrick is a flight risk, Leaders said.

The state noted a prior offense involving a weapon, but said the defendant had no felonies.

Public Defender William Taylor asked the court to set bail at a reasonable amount and argued the added requirement of a third-party custodian should reduce the bail’s amount.

There were three alleged victims of Herrick’s offenses, said Bauman, and a grand jury decided it had heard sufficient evidence to charge him. A larger bail was appropriate, he said.

A friend of Herrick’s who declined to give his name inquired how he could find a bail bondsman on the Peninsula, but the court offered little advice.

The court scheduled an omnibus hearing for Jan. 25 at the Kenai Courthouse. Herrick’s trial was scheduled for the week of Feb. 25 in Homer.

Troopers on Friday arrested Herrick after a chance encounter at the Anchor Point Grocery Store. Trooper Daniel Brom stopped to get a snack at the grocery store on the Old Sterling Highway at 10:24 p.m. Brom noticed a bald man sitting in the passenger seat of the truck next to his patrol car. The man attempted to hide his face, troopers reported.

The trooper identified Herrick, who left the truck and entered an adjacent liquor store. He called for backup, and two troopers arrested Herrick following a brief scuffle.

Herrick allegedly raised his fists at the troopers and resisted being handcuffed. When troopers pinned Herrick on the ground with his hands beneath him, Brom attempted to pull Herrick’s hands out; Herrick said, “You’re going to have to work for them.”

Troopers found a knife, bullets and two handgun magazines on Herrick, they reported.

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To whichever reporter wrote this: "brandishing an AR-15 semiautomatic assault rifle with a large capacity drum magazine" - Really? Do you really think this was needed? The type of firearm used during this crime has nothing to do with the crime. The fact that you chose to list it in this fashion certainly alludes to the standard liberal media's hatred of firearms and gun control beliefs. Your comment please.

Mr. Norseman, methinks you are jumping to conclusions. Since you are an avid gun owner and have not problems with how the dreaded assualt rifle was used in this story, then please (in your opinion) explain how the type of weapon has anything to do with this story. In addition, if you please, explain how this story would be any less if the reporter had used 'rifle' or firearm'. Thanks!

Who in Alaska does not have an AR-15? The real weapon was a KNIFE, silent and no traceable fragments left behind like bullets leave. The guy also had TWO HANDS and TWO FEET that are also very dangerous, AND THOSE TEETH. The point is that sometimes bad people have guns, knives and many other tools that they use to inflict harm and commit crimes and the MAIN TROUBLE IS NO PUNISHMENT FOR BAD CHOICES.
It's gonna get worse real soon, so hang on to your guns and pay attention to whats going on around you and learn to protect your self and others if and when the need arises.
My wife LOVESSSSSSS AR-15's and knows how to use them thanks to the Women on Target state funded womens gun class held here on the Kenai severl times a summer. Incourage your women to take this class so they can be ready if need be, also teach your kids the proper use of these tools that are ment to kill & protect, but like all other tools can and do get used improperly, yet all these other tools are OK.
If you can get a person to shoot an AR-15 or someother gun of this type they will be smilling from ear to ear no matter how bad they used to hate guns. Try it you'll like it.
The thing is this guy was caught and now we will pay for his living for many yrs just like millions of others that wanted it their way and we all must pay.

I too belong to the NRA and though I don't have an AR-15 I have played with them often enough , they are a lot of fun.
That being said ,how can having a 50 round clip not be news?
If it would have been a samari sword or a machete or a baseball bat or a poison dart tube those would have been mentioned too.They mentioned his knife .
Relax, I don't think this article is going to change anybody's mind about guns in this state.

For me to understand your viewpoint, it would be helpful if you would completely answer the question.

The story is about what happened and why he was arraigned. The fact that a weapon was used does fall into the what happened category.

What you left out is how the 'type' of weapon is important. It appears that the reporter chose to use the inflammatory phrase "assault rifle with a large capacity drum magazine", which in my opinion was not necessary. Not only was it not necessary, but seemingly done to vilify the specific type of weapon. If the police report or the court report has it listed in the same fashion, then the reporter should have written such.

If you are truly a pro-gun ownership person and have been paying attention for the last several decades, you will know this is nothing new. The anti-gun crowd, including much of the public media, like to dramatize the report by using the "assault" phrase to further point blame towards such a bad weapon. If the defendant had used a baseball bat or knife to carryout the kidnapping, do you think the reporter would have written "easy to swing extra hard hitting assault bat" or "super sharp extra pointy extended length assault knife"? No. They would not.

Any attack against another individual is an assault. Any weapon used in such an attack is by definition an assault weapon - in that specific case. If the media was concerned about using the proper terms they would apply the "assault" label to all weapons used; assault stick, assault car, assasult fist, assault....well, I think you can catch my drift.

But the media does not apply it in that manner. Only when used to malign a specific class of firearm.

Therefore I stand by my previous comment. The fact that the reporter chose to list it in this fashion alludes to the their hatred of firearms and/or gun control beliefs.

[If the defendant had used a baseball bat or knife to carryout the kidnapping, do you think the reporter would have written "easy to swing extra hard hitting assault bat" or "super sharp extra pointy extended length assault knife"?] -quoted

Can I vote this the best comment ever? I don't really agree that the description is part of an agenda, but that comment is just awesome. I think the large capacity magazine is an important point; it kind of goes toward intent. Would you really need a high capacity magazine for hunting or self-defense? Perhaps the "assault" term is propaganda, but the author probably deferred to some journalistic standard, rather than making a colorful description for this article alone.

Wow is right, those Black Rifles (AR-15 was invented by Mr. Black) are a lot of fun. I was in the first company to train through Basic Taining and AIT at Fr Ord with the AR's. Our platoon in Kenai received it's first shipment of Black rifles when I returned from AIT. The old Srgt. thought he would test the young trainee and asked if I would like to show the our platoon the proper care, assembly, disassembly, cleaning, siting, and use of the AR-15 platform. About 2 hours later we were at the Kenai Snow Shoe Gun Club and 3 or 4 buddies walked up and showed me their 1 1/2 to 2" groups and ear to ear smiles.
I have had an AR around most of the 40 yrs. since then and have truely mastered the use of this fine, fine weapon. Just fact, but I'm one bad-f with an AR. My drill Srgt. at Fr Ord told me I was the best that he had seen and Mr Blacks wet dream of a rifleman when he invented the AR. I'm just straight up smoking hot with an AR, love it. But with out skipping a heart beat would lay that puppy down if I thought that would have the effect through out society to stop another tragedy like yesterdays.
But it wouldn't stop, just like drunk drivers, do we just get all the cars of the road so a drunk won't kill someone? I just hope that knee jerk reactions to what ONE JERK does with a gun isn't taken as a license to rip apart the 2nd amendment. So please pray for the victims and the families crushed by this incredibly vile act.

I realize the M-16 was developed from the AR-10 platform but our weapons (U.S.Army 1970) were called M-16A1, we never saw an AR-15, must have been before my time, although we did get some time with the leftover M-14, and Eugene Stoner was the man behind the M-16 design. The standard joke was that Mattel made the M-16. So who was Mr. Black?

Why was the assault weapon in the 9 charges or assault & rape by the Anchorage Police officer not discribed in every detail. What about the cars used to kill people on the Highways, we need to know every detail about these too.
Or the beer bottle used in Homer to rape that young man, what brand and size was it. What about the guy in China yesterday that sliced up those 22 little kids at school, we need to know exactly what type & size knife that was so we can regulate them here along with beer bottles or cars or even male organs.
Can ya see the rediculesness of or importance in describing size or type of weapons used.
Bad people use all types of tools to do harm and thats the trouble, not the cars, guns, beer bottles or knives or what ever. It's people hurting people thats the problem and that will not change under mankinds rule of unrightiousness & sin, never has & never will.
Make no mistake many editors/writers of articles, have guide lines and words that they are commanded to use by their sponcers or major supporters and thats evident daily from all sources of news.
The last week we had MANY people killed across America, some by guns, cars, planes, boats, drugs, aids, wars, terrorists aided by us, hands choking and feet stomping, self inflicted and on the list could go, but the major problem is GUNS, WHY IS THAT?
The World order hates the fact that we Americans have weapons and thats why we have been so free with no forieng ground attacks since we kicked Englands but out. If they get our guns, they get our freedom and soverign rights which keep us out of the World Order which allows no Soverign Rights.

Magazine shows intent? I think so,lets put it this way...... if you need fifty rounds to hunt,you should have your hunting license taken away because you can't shoot. You only NEED 50 rounds if someone is shooting back.
Another thought came to mind, news is a form of entertainment these days and "brandishing a weapon" doesn't have near the pizazz that" brandishing an AR-15 semiautomatic assault rifle with a large capacity drum magazine" does.

BL, My son who is an Air Borne Ranger serving his 16th yr just home from Afgan and due to go back next November wrote me today about the killings of the people in CT. He used the very same words about the news as a means of entertainment from a quote that Morgan Freeman made today on the media over CT.
Very sad the glorification of this killer or others like him and press time about him thats still being corrected from all the medias false reports as we go foreward. As my son said in his letter about this thing is that people kill people and every kind of tool on earth is used and we can't outlaw all of them when their not the trouble. Broken bad people are whats wrong and some will never be right no matter what.
As Max Lucado said today on Huckibee, when there is no right or wrong and people have no guide lines then bad people hurt other people and this war of good and evil will someday end, but for now people suffer and die. Max asked that others would not view this killer as some sort of hero due to all the media publicity and realize that this is wrong and to seek help if they think about doing like wise. Media publicity promotes these copycat killings for fleeting moments of fame and glory from deaths of others and self.

Back on topic here. The thing about large capacity magizines is that i have them as well for my weapons and it sure helps cut back on reloading time when target practicing or in the event some peace loving folks with large magizine weapons decide that they want it their way and i'm standing in the way i just might have a fair chance of surviving or helping my fellow neighbors survive their evil desires.
I also have 29 arrows for my Mathews Monster bow with broadheads and practice points amany, all of which also helps me to not have to stop to retreive arrows when practicing.
Large capacity magizines or many arrows does not mean that i'm a bad shoot, because i'm not, either with guns or bow or sling shot or even rock chunkin, it means that i don't like to waste time reloading. When i played adult softball i also had several bats, i was not a bad hitter, just like to have many differant options.
Get my point here i hope?
I believe that there is an under lying effort to take our weapons away from us and every chance there is to garner more unreasoning support from those that would have America be a Police State Nation at many levels is being waged against our 2nd amendment even to the point of sacrificial killers of others to inflict terror and fear and crys for more protection by Govt. when Govt. and their laws that protect criminals are the main problem in most cases.
The thing is that evil will use people to carry out evil acts and many tools are used to do them Globally, not just Alaska or America.
When there are no moral rules to live by and criminals are protected when hurting the innocent, then we as a society have got a major problem and it's not guns or size of magizines for them.

You are right about Stoner and I knew that, but at 4:23 am I just thought black for whatever I don't know, shared pea brain genes with my buddy WOW or something. I was just saying if I thought laying my old Stoner rifle down would solve stop or prevent another disaster like we just witnessed I would gladly toss it in the pile and watch as that D-8 ground it up. And it is something I have enjoyed using greatly over the years. It's like if you played pool and consistantly ran about 1 out of 3 tables on 9 ball or 8 ball and if you are hot your smoking. Don't know what it is about lining up those sights and squeezing one of that flips that switch, but I really like it and unlike pool I can just follow that straight shot right in the hole.
So I guess it's just saying that I would gladly give up something I hold dear if it would help.
The guy probably stole the AR to begin with and it just had a drum in it. But there are levels of intimidation, and a big old drum clip could bring hot pee down the pant legs if your looking down the wrong end of that gun. So I guess it's okay for a journalist without your obvious wealth of knowledge about weapons to say the guy had a 50 ROUND drum! And to make hay out of that fact. So if that lights your candle then I must agree with the above "Flamer on a Troll" comment.

My confusion is with your being so well trained and versed with a non-issued weapon along with how disapointed you must have been to be stuck stateside in the National Guard with the draft number of 26 during the vietnam war, those were tough weekends back in the day. Yeah, I missed the point.

I was about yesterday and was amazed at all the folks buying guns & ammo. Smart people do abound here in AK as they can see the desired Police State mentality with it's desire to reduce America into just anothe OWO elligible nation thats spreading like some peaceful eastern religion for state controled people for the good of all.

20 tiny kids killed with the weapon you all are lovingly talking about.

Bring back the Assault Weapons Ban and add a whole bunch more to it. There are way too many crazies on the Peninsula to allow them. Just read the comments here. This place is ripe to have what happened at Sandy Hook happen here.

Evil people hurt people like the guy in China that sliced up 22 school kids with a knife due to no guns allowed there. So you see evil is at work every where and all kinds of weapons are used to destroy. We can't ban everything in this war agaist evil.

Seafarer, it was not the Bushmaster that murdered those precious children. It has been our culture that has killed them. The gun was simply the intrument that was used in the killing. Much in the same way a pen doesn't write a bad check, a knife doesn't stab and a 2" diameter pipe stuffed with match heads to make a bomb doesn't blow up people.
Our culture needs to change! Our values have taken a twist over the past 40 years that at one time seemed unfathomable. We have nurtured a culture that is accustomed to seeing a movie in which the star is killed or kills on one night and a couple of nights later is seen in another movie committing another murder with a different plot and story line. If that's not enough, we create video games to emmulate and glorified these characters for our teenaged children to play until all hours of the night.
The assault weapons ban would do nothing more than bring more creative ways of killing.
We create the monsters through media reports such as "the second deadliest mass murder on record" and we make the bastard responible for the act famous. There is more air time dedicated to the past of the murderer and his possible troubled childhood than there is to the innocent people that fell victim to this twisted individual.
Finally, the purpose of the second ammendment was not to guarantee our right to have a hunting rifle. It was a guarantee to have a defense against a government of tyranny.

Seafarer, it was not the Bushmaster that murdered those precious children. It has been our culture that has killed them. The gun was simply the intrument that was used in the killing. Much in the same way a pen doesn't write a bad check, a knife doesn't stab and a 2" diameter pipe stuffed with match heads to make a bomb doesn't blow up people.
Our culture needs to change! Our values have taken a twist over the past 40 years that at one time seemed unfathomable. We have nurtured a culture that is accustomed to seeing a movie in which the star is killed or kills on one night and a couple of nights later is seen in another movie committing another murder with a different plot and story line. If that's not enough, we create video games to emmulate and glorified these characters for our teenaged children to play until all hours of the night.
The assault weapons ban would do nothing more than bring more creative ways of killing.
We create the monsters through media reports such as "the second deadliest mass murder on record" and we make the bastard responible for the act famous. There is more air time dedicated to the past of the murderer and his possible troubled childhood than there is to the innocent people that fell victim to this twisted individual.
Finally, the purpose of the second ammendment was not to guarantee our right to have a hunting rifle. It was a guarantee to have a defense against a government of tyranny.

Very Good my Friend if i may call you that. I got a letter from my son on Saturday about this and he pretty much nailed it as you did. I forewarded it to the Clarion with Jakes permission and hopefully they will print it in the opinion section. Our culture has declined due to no Moral Compass and we are just now starting to see the results of our sacricicing of our young to the worlds etheical standards and it is going to get worse as things get tighter to survive without Gov. assestance in all areas of life.
I read that Feinstein (D-ca) is going to introduce a bill to outlaw all simi-auto weapons, now called assult weapons, magizines or drums of more than 10 rounds and restrict mentally ill people from having access to these guns. She said they have been working on this for over a year and now (thank god due to the evil as of late by people that stole these guns) they have an opportunity to bring it foreward and get-r-done.
It makes one wonder about the extent of evil and sudden numerious acts like the two of late in Oregon and Conneticut where young men stole simi-auto guns to kill with, then they commit suicide afterwards in their evil pact ment to destroy lives and now the mad push to stop it all with the removal of guns. I, like my son see major troubles coming as we go foreward and the push by Govt. to regulate and remove our second ammendment rights to protect against Govts. that seek to have total control. Evil sin abounds and comes in many shapes and sizes and uses every tool available to destroy HUMANS, at the hands of other HUMANS. History shows that EVERY GOVERNMENT of men has failed in their claims of hope and peace for all when given absolute rule When the people are defenceless from allowing the Govt. total control, then the Govt. It's self destroys nonstop until they are stopped by those that have the weapons to stop them. Evil rules this present worlds systems, for now that is. Good will prevail, but, it's gonna be a hard fight against those that seek to control and destroy others by removing our rights & freedoms.
I can see an ID system for all the good citizens of the world union coming about quickly with all the fears against evil and the Govts. promisses of protection if only we allow them their free reign at every turn. What a Mess this, Have it your way society is becoming as everything crashes around us and we wonder why.

I'm amazed, looks like 200 folks lost their AR's yesterday, yea fell out of the boat! We'll be dragging the lakes and rivers come Spring wondering where everybodies precious AR was lost. Because at this rate nobody will even know where their lost rifle really is. A little cosmolene and a long vac bag lined with oiled paper should keep one well, stored in a cool dry place!
The perfect storm type scinerio for enacting totalitarian Gun Control messures. All the screaming libs blaming guns, and not looking around at other types of disaster. Heck drunk drivers kill more people every month than this maniac could with full clips and no resisitance! So are we going to ban all pickup trucks from the road because that big bumper makes them look fearsome? I can remember over 100 fatalities on the Nations hiways over the Labor Day weekend a few years ago. But you say this is different, it can be totally stopped by just taking those evil GUNs and ammo from people you don't like anyway. All those drunk drivers could be stopped to, just reinact Prohibition and we can leave the trucks on the road and they will be safe.
Regardless of what type of empherical gun control is taken it will not get most of the guns of the street. Aussies just took huge Gun Control meassures and now deaths from home invasion and other types of robery done with illegal weapons have eclipesed the shooting they were trying to stop to begin with. They have 2 generation old gun control laws in Chicago, and somehow gangsters and teens are killing each other 4 to 6 a week. Only the law abiding honest folks will comply and quite frankly we do not have enough or could we afford jail space for all that would say screw you , you'll have to take it from my cold dead hands.
The next thing is you will discover that the floks that own most of those guns your crying about are the type that would have blown that punk away if they had a shot at him. And these folks are the people that built this City, State and this Nation. Then when your done you will still have those creeps or mentally ill folks that will do crap like this anyway!
I'll bet the next National Dept. will be for gun confiscation and have 10,000 federal employees, with full pentions and benifits for our problems, but maybe you'll sleep better.

The word Rasha in Arabic means Unabated Evil. It's kind of like Rash, or uncontroled outbreak, as in evil this way comes.
I learned this word during the Feast of Rosh Hashanah from one of the Jewish Christian organizations i support.
I think that this word kind of says it all when we view the world as of late with it's unabatied spread of evil with every kind of tool immaginable being used to cause terror, fear, along with death, pain and suffering of humans, no matter the race color or creed, nor age or gender matter in this spread of Pure Evil against us all.
Something Wicked this way comes, and it's not winter folks, it's Unabaited Evil with ALL of us in it's sights.
God Help us all as Revelation 12:12 says, woe unto earth & sea (and the inhabitants there), for satan has been cast down and is come down with gr8 wrath, knowing his time is short.
Funny how RV 12:12 kind of shows what many believe will start on Fri. 12-21-12. Not the End of the World, just the end of an age of time and beginning of a new age, but first comes the evil, or purging off of the bad, so New will grow. Hang on the rides about to erupt into something we have never seen, nor shall we ever see again, with Unabated Rasha Globally and the Rightious overthrow of it's spread at the End.

Who needs a gun capable of killing many people in the shortest time possibe? This ain't no Moose hunting gun. Who needs a 40 round clip? Not to go Ptarmigan hunting. Just who needs an assault weapon except soldiers and police?

Can you answer what good is an assault gun in everyday life? How does it apply to your life?

Assault weapons are used for (surprise!) ASSAULT! They are meant to kill HUMAN BEINGS. What part of that don't you NRA worshipping godheads understand? These guns are a threat to yours, mine, and our children's humanity!

Please do not say militia. That ship has sailed. However, I am sure there are those types on the Peninsula by the hundreds. Those are the looney tunes who will walk into our schools.